A Winner & Simply Amazing

Hello everyone! I have a new project to share at the start of this wonderful week! I would say that it’s a return to my style, with a little drama – by way of some navy. I haven’t been using dark colors very much as of late.

Sparkly strawberries! Why yes, I went there. I just couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I added some glitter, but I’m getting ahead of myself here! I used three sets from WPlus9 on my card today. I started with a panel of Rustic Cream cardstock and made my own patterned paper with the berries and leaves from Fresh Picked. Instead of doing the entire panel with the berries, I decided to add in a more subtle pattern to the top of the card. So, I used Country Charm to add some diagonal stripes to a small piece of Melon Berry cardstock.

I diecut a Label Number 5 and stamped it with the coordinating border image. When I sat down to make this card, I knew I wanted to use that label and I also knew I wanted to use that very sentiment. Now, the problem – if you’d like to think of it as such, was that the sentiment would not fit on the label without looking, to be frank, horrible. So,  I used an EK Success ticket punch because it fit my sentiment perfectly. From there, I adhered my floral embellishment and some navy seam binding bows on both sides.

Back to my glitter bombing. I did this with some stickles. I wanted hints of glitter, so I I just dabbed it here and there. And, finished the entire card off with a spritzing of Mister Huey in Calico Shine. Bam. And, I’m a happy boy!

Supplies

Stamps: Fresh Picked, Country Charm, Quite Like You: WPlus9.

Cardstock: Kraft, Rustic Cream, Melon Berry: Papertrey Ink.

Ink: Crumb Cake, Night of Navy, Cameo Coral: Stampin’ Up.

Dies: Circle Stackers & Label Number 5: WPlus9.

Other: Calico Shine Mr. Huey: Studio Calico, Button: Papertrey Ink, Seam Binding: Liz’s Paperloft Boutique, Crystal Stickles Glitter Glue: Ranger

WINNER, WINNER!!

Okay, I used Random.org to select a winner for the My Creative Time stamp set giveaway, and the lucky person is: Vivi J! Congratulations my dear, I will be emailing you shortly!

Thanks everyone for stopping by! I wish you all a blessed day!

Life is Sweet

Hello everyone! I told myself I would do a better job of blogging, and it helps that I have had moments of inspiration hit me here and there. I have one to share today that I really love, and I take a lot of comfort in the sentiment. Especially so, given the events in Boston on Monday.

I used, The Sweet Life, a multi-step floral set from Papertrey Ink. It builds the most wonderful cabbage roses. Next to hydrangea, roses happen to be my favorite flowers. The more hues of ink in ones arsenal, the more possible combinations. Personally, I like to make mine look as realistic as possible. I mean, I doubt you’ll see neon roses here. I guess it could be fun if you’re into that kind of thing.

Because I can’t be satisfied with less, I went back in with some paisley stamps from a Recollections cling mount set that I just love. And, I filled in the pattern further with the strawberry flower from Strawberry Patch. The dots are from Polka Dot Basics I. I used my Envelope Pattern backgrounder to add a little texture.

I stamped my sentiment on a strip of vellum and heat embossed it with some detail gold embossing powder from Recollections. I used the envelope pattern on the back of the sentiment strip because I felt it needed a little bit of color, and because, I just can’t leave well enough alone.

The panel was sewn to a Kraft base embossed with my Squared Lattice folder. And, to finish it off, I added some buttons threaded with Rustic Cream twine, and silk ribbon.

Alrighty, that is it for me! I hope everyone has a wonderful week. Keep the people of Boston in your thoughts. I thank you all for visiting, and I wish you a very blessed day!

A Little Emerald Love

Hey all! I’m popping up with a number I made for this week’s Trigger Tuesday Challenge. In case you didn’t know, emerald is the color of 2013. Initially, I was hesitant to embrace it, but I really love it know. As many of you know, I work in retail and we have a lot of emerald pieces that I love. I would totally recommend picking up a few pieces because I find that it can be a very versatile and neutral color.

I love the inspiration picture that Cath picked for the trigger. I especially love the ruffled top and the floral pattern of the dress. So, for my card, I tried to play that up.

I pulled out what is probably my favorite stamp set, Rosie Posie, and stamped a few blooms. I am sooooo happy that I didn’t get rid of my Jenni Bowlin Seed Packet ink pad. It’s the perfect shade of emerald. And, I also need to thank my dear friends Jess and Sara because if not for them, I would have never bought the huge package of glitter that just so happened to include . . . you guessed it, emerald. Woot, woot!

I made the crepe paper trim myself. I probably went a bit overboard, but I don’t care. For me, sometimes, more is more.

Alright peeps, that’s it for me today! You have about five more days if you want to join in on the fun! Thanks for stopping by and have a blessed day!

 

Vintage Fabric Love

Yes, I know, I said I would make a better attempt to blog, but well - I work two jobs. My schedule can be kind of crazy. I work a mixture of days and, on occasion, overnight. A boy has got to eat and sleep sometime. However, I DO have three more projects to share soon (already photographed) because I HAVE been making things here and there. And, I have a list of things I want to make.

I’m here today with a card for the Moxie Fab Trigger Tuesday Challenge. It seems that I miss challenges a lot of the time, and I am so happy I found the time to participate in this one because the trigger is totally up my alley. A vintage embroidery pattern:

I love everything about this, from the pattern itself, to the colors. So, I tried my best to make a project that reflected the original. I bought Lovely Layers from Papertrey a while ago (like, October!) and I hadn’t the chance to ink it up, but it was perfect for this.

Lot’s of stamping here! I made this knowing that I was going to send it in the mail, so I wanted to keep it kind of, “simple.” The majority of the stamps from Lovely Layers. I went back in with an Inkadinkado flourish to add more detail. I also used some dots from Polka Dot Basics II, and a leaf from WPlus 9’s Folk Art Florals. To give it more of a fabric look, I took my Just Jeans background and stamped over the entire panel. I do this when I want to add more texture.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day.

Supplies

Stamps: Lovely Layers, Just Jeans, Folk Art Florals, Polka Dot Basics II

Ink: Regal Rose, Brocade Blue. Wisteria Wonder, Crumb Cake (SU); Limeade Ice, Scarlet Jewel (Papertrey Ink); Walnut Stain Distress Ink

Cardstock: Kraft, Rustic Cream (Papertrey Ink), Vellum (Jo-Ann)

Other: Tread (Coats & Clark), Button and Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Papertrey Ink October Blog Hop

Hello. Yes, it’s been forever since I’ve posted, but I’m popping in before I head off to work! I wanted to join in on the festivities this month. Nichole selected some non-traditional color schemes and given that I am a bit out of the box with color, this was right up my alley.

Here is the scheme I selected:

And, from that, this is what I came up with:

This is one of the quickest cards I think I have ever made. Kept pretty true to what I like. I had he hardest time incorporating the Berry Sorbet. I love the color, but it’s much brighter than what I generally like to use, so I used it to compliment the Melon Berry.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Background Basics: Sheet Music, Peaceful Pinecones & Think Big Favorites #20; Acanthus Background from Delta.

Cardstock: Spring Moss, Harvest Gold & Melon Berry.

Patterned Paper: Colorbok Victorian Parlour.

Ink: Stampin’ Up Certainly Celery, Calypso Coral & Groovy Guava; Versamark and Harvest Gold.

Dies: Peaceful Pinecones and Mat Stack 4; Woodgrain Impression Plate.

Other: Wilton Doily and Doodlebug Lily White Sugarcoating. 

That’s it for me! Thanks for stopping by. and I wish you a blessed day!

Autumn Greetings

Hello everyone! So, I’m starting a new adventure, and I am having a lot of fun with it. I have found myself being drawn to image stamps for a long time now, and I held off because I didn’t want another thing to spend money on. Well, that didn’t work, but I tried!

Disclaimer: I have never taken a class and I do not profess myself to be an expert, nor do I think you have to be. That being said, if the powers that be at Copic ever come across this, please schedule a class in the South! Like, Nashville or Birmingham please. Thank you.

I think it is kind of hard to give a step-by-step description of the making of this card, so I’ll be doing it a little differently this time. I still kind of struggle with that.

I started with the cutest image from Stampin’ Up’s Greeting Card Kids stamp set. I have eyed this set since I started stamping, and I am so happy to finally have it. Because I am easing my way into coloring, I used a variety of markers for this project. I *think* that I will be buying the Copic Sketch markers. I am researching my options. I might stick with Prismacolors. Anyway, for this card, here are the markers I used:

Pumpkin

Prismacolor PM-15 Yellowed Orange, PM-16 Orange & PM-13 Poppy Red

Dress

Prismacolor PM-193 Mint Cream, Pm-166 True Green, PM-32 Parrot Green & Copic Sketch B000 Pale Porcelain Blue

Cape, Hat & Socks

BIC Mark-It Polynesian Purple, Prismacolor PM-55 Rhodamine & PM-50 Violet

Hat Band & Buckle

BIC Mark-It Cloud Nine Grey, Tuxedo Black & Prismacolor PM-123 Spanish Orange

Hair

BIC Mark-It Tiki Hut Tan, Prismacolor PM-69 Goldenrod & PM-98 Dark Brown

Skin

Prismacolor PM-72 Eggshell, PM-170 Peach & PM-65 Sienna Brown

Broom, Leaves & Branch

PM-166 True Green & PM-31 Dark Green, BIC Mark-It Tiki Hut Tan, Prismacolor PM-69 Goldenrod & PM-123 Spanish Orange

Shading

Copic Sketch Warm Gray No. 1, B000 Pale Porcelain Blue & Colorless Blender

The card base is 4” x 5.5.” Yes, I trimmed it because I felt it was a little bit too wide. The card base is Kraft and the patterned papers are from Pink Paislee’s London Market 6” x 6” paper pack. I stamped the image with Memento Rich Cocoa Ink onto Stamper’s Select White cardstock. I diecut it with my Spellbinders Petite Ovals Small dies and inked it with Antique Linen and Wild Honey Distress Inks. I set it aside to dry while I worked on the card base, but I went back to it and stamped stars around the image with Versamark Dazzle ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. I then matted it on a Petite Scalloped Oval Large cut from Terracotta Tile cardstock. And before I forget, I dry embossed the Aqua Mist cardstock with the Textile Cuttlebug folder.

I tried to keep everything relatively neutral. The only non-neutral color comes from the red-orange of the Terracotta Tile. In my opinion, aqua and lavender are colored neutrals, but again, that’s my view.

I did some embellishing with Prima Say it With Crystals, scrunched seam binding, and a faceted button. I used sentiments from My Creative Time’s Piles of Smiles stamp set. I popped up the sentiment banner with dimensional adhesive, and added some rhinestones to bring in a little more lavender. Lastly, I rounded the corners with the .25” setting on my Corner Chomper and hit the entire care with Mister Huey Shine.

Thanks so much for coming by! Have a blessed day!

Victorian Halloween

Good day wonderful people! I have another one of my vintage numbers to share with you all today. As I type this, I have the urge to add some glitter to it, but what’s done is done!

Okay, so I challenged myself to make a Halloween card without using traditional colors, and to also use some of the things that I’ve been hoarding. I’ve been on a bit of a, I need to buy this and this and that phase, and, I have to kind of lay off the buying because I’m going on vacation in November. Moving on!

For the first time in a long time, I made an odd sized card. The base is Sweet Blush and measures 3.75” x 5.5.” I basically made an A2 and shaved half an inch off. That keeps you from wasting cardstock.

All of the patterned papers are for Colorbok. I bought the Victorian Parlour 8” x 8” pad and the die cut accents from Jo-Ann this summer. Basically, I just picked some patterns that coordinated, starting with a brown scroll type pattern. I stamped Background Basics: Sheet Music with Crumb Cake ink on the pink doily paper. I wanted something a bit subtle. I stitched the papers together and then adhered them to the base.

I found some new (Well, new to me!) doilies at Jo-Ann a few weeks ago, and it' wouldn’t be one of my cards if I didn’t use one, so I took one out and gave it a misting with Boss Lady Mr. Huey spray mist from Studio Calico. Again, trying to bring in the pink more. Ohh, I did ink the doily with Antique Linen and just the tiniest amount of Vintage Photo Distress ink because white would have ben too stark for this card. I rarely, if ever, use white cardstock. When I do, you will know it!

From there, I adhered a large rose die cut and then I layered on the vintage postcard I printed from Beatriz Jennings Etsy shop. A little more stitching – to fully secure it. I added a little pearl flourish from Recollections across the bottom. I used some trim on the edge of the card. I really love this stuff. I need to get it in more colors.

To finish it up, I made a bow from natural jute ribbon and seam binding from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique. I glued one of the butterfly die cuts from the collection in the center. If you look closely, the little girl on the postcard is holding Jack – O – Lantern, so I found the perfect sentiment in All Around Halloween from My Creative Time. I stamped it with Soft Suede ink from Stampin Up. The very last touch was to swipe my Fresh Ink Paper White ink pad to soften the hard edges of the card. I decided to do this instead of Distressing it with Antique Linen. I wanted it to stay kind of light.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a blessed day!

Thank You Blossoms

Hello everyone! I had to pop in and share a card with a warm weather card before Fall is full blown. I think if I went with the ideas that pop in my brain, I would be making tons of Halloween and Christmas cards.

I wanted to make a card using my newest favorite color, Wisteria Wonder, and this the result:

I have never thought of myself as a purple person, but I am in love with this color. Anyway, I started by stamping my roses from Stippled Blossoms (My first multi-step stamping set, and it’s divine!) from Stampin’ Up. The base layer was stamped with Wisteria Wonder, and the top layer was stamped with Elegant Eggplant.  I stamped them on Vintage Cream cardstock and I cut them out with my detail scissors.

From there, I matted a sheet of woodgrain patterned paper from the My Mind’s Eye Miss Caroline Howdy Doody paper pad onto a piece of Vintage Cream cardstock that I inked with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo. I swear, I use those inks like they’re going out of style. I digress! I took the card front to my sewing machine and did a simple perimeter stitch. I wanted to use a big sentiment with this card, so I pulled out My Creative Time’s Floral Sentiments. I embossed the sentiment with White Zing embossing powder from American Crafts.

Okay, pulling it all together now! I used my Expression to cut a large scalloped border from a piece of script patterned paper from the My Mind’s Eye The Sweetest Thing Lavender pad. If I recall, the scallop is on the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge. I adhered it directly to the card front. I then added some Victoria Trim from Stampin’ Up. Love this stuff, you will be seeing lots of it. And then, I took my flowers that I had stamped and cut out, and some leaves that I diecut from Simply Chartreuse Felt using my Sweet Life dies and layered them onto the card front. I used a combination of dimensional adhesive and hot glue.

The finishing touch was some scrunched seam binding from Liz’s Paperloft Boutique and an Antique Brad from Stampin’ Up. OHH! I also misted the card with Mr. Huey Calico Shine, but I don’t possess the photography skills to show you all. But in person, it has a really nice shimmer. Love that stuff!

Thanks for stopping by! Having a bit of a busy work week, but I do hope to find some time to craft. As always, I wish you a blessed day!

Birthday Wishes

Hello crafty people! I hope everyone is having a good week! I’m popping up today to share a number that I made for my mother’s birthday a few weeks ago.  I got to use some new to me goodies on it!

Okay, so there’s a lot going on here, as you can see. I would like to think that it’s organized and well put together, but I will let you all be the judge!

The base of the card is Kraft. However, I did something that I rarely do – I covered the entire base with a piece of patterned paper from My Mind’s Eye. For this card, I used paper from the Miss Caroline Dilly Dally 6” x 6” pad. I did quite a bit of inking. I used Antique Linen, Tea Dye, and just the tiniest bit of Walnut Stain Distress Inks throughout the card. I sewed the patterned paper front directly to the Kraft base with a perimeter zig-zag stitch.

Next, I cut a 3.75” x 5” piece of Kraft and embossed it with my Sizzix Square Lattice folder from Stampin’ Up. I’ve had this for a while, and just never got around to using it. I bought it during my style transformation, so it kind of sat in my little embossing folder crate. Anyway, I *think* I used the debossed side, and I sewed another piece of patterned paper to it. I then used my edge distresser to rough up the edges. This was adhered directly to the card base.

For my stamping, I used Teeny Tags from My Creative Time, and the Strawberry Patch dies and a Mat Stack 4 diecut from Papertrey Ink. The stamps I used were Strawberry Patch and Teeny Tag Greetings. The Strawberry Patch stamp set is kind of a double use set, it has stamps for those that like to color, and stamps for those that just like to stamp. Personally, I’m kind of in the middle. I would like to attend a Copic class, but they seem to avoid the South! Anyway, I used the leaf outline stamps, and stamped it on the diecut with Always Artichoke ink. I went back in with the large flower and stamped it with Paper White Fresh Ink. I colored in the center of the flower with my Spanish Orange Prismacolor Marker. After all of that, I used my Woodgrain Impression Plate to give it something a little extra.

This is where I am going to digress and let you all know why I tend to not video myself making cards. More often than note, they are very involved! But, I do have plans to make more tutorials! Back to your regular scheduled programming . . .

I diecut the the strawberries from Kraft and stamped them with Real Red and Always Artichoke inks. Then I adhered them to the Mat Stack with dimensional adhesive.

Now, putting it all together! I pulled out a doily and inked it really good with Baja Breeze ink. I did this to pull out the blue from my pattered paper. I adhered the mat with my strawberries with more dimensional adhesive. It wouldn’t be a card from me if I didn’t tie a bow. For that, I used some May Arts Chevron Twill ribbon. And, I secured my sentiment to it with a vintage button from Papertrey Ink, and Maraschino twine from The Twinery. Lastly, I added some Lime Green Stickles, cause you know I loves me some glitter.

Before I go, I have a little announcement. I have decided to step down from the My Creative Time Design Team. It was a really hard decision, but it was something that I thought over for a while. I sincerely love Emma and the ladies on the DT more than I can express. There aren’t many guys in this craft of ours, but they welcomed me with open arms. This doesn’t mean that I will stop using My Creative Time. A lot of my most favorite sentiment sets have a special place on my craft table.

As always, I thank you for stopping by, and I wish you a blessed day!

Floral Hello

Hey there! So, I really didn’t have plans to post this week – my workload is kind of heavy this week, but I didn’t want to leave y’all hanging, so I’m pulling from the archives! Have you’ve ever been in the mall and wondered who dressed the mannequins, did the window displays, and merchandising? Well, people like me. Anyway, enough of that, let’s get to the card!

This is a card I made a while back when I just needed to get something out of my system:

My goal here to make a clean and graphic card. I used what is probably my favorite set ever, Rosie Posie. And, I finally used the Quatrefoil background stamp that I picked up at Hob Lob.

I have standard, top fold A2 base made from True Black. Not something I use often, but this is what popped in my head at the time. The card front is Rustic Cream as are all of the flower die cuts. I stamped the large roses with Real Red ink by Stampin’ Up. The buds and quatrefoil were stamped in Fountain Pen by Jenni Bowlin. I used the Rosie Posie leaves for the die cuts, but I also stamped a different leaf from a Studio G set that I got from Wal-Mart last year. I don’t buy the inexpensive stamps anymore, but I love the leaves in that set. I stamped them using Lucky Limeade ink. Also, the shading you see on the blooms, I did that with a Real Red Stampin’ Write Marker.

I tied a bow using red saddle stitch from Hob Lob. I use this quite a bit – mainly because I love having a pop of color, especially red, but also so that I can order some from Papertrey. I just prefer their ribbon over most others.

I stamped a sentiment from Fillable Frames #1 onto a scrap of True Black and trimmed it with my pinking shears. I highly recommend a pair. I got mine when I worked for Jo-Ann, but they were not expensive at all. I keep telling myself that I need to get another pair to dedicate to ribbon and fabric. And I am convinced that I was a Southern Belle or something in a former life, because I am addicted to pearls! That being the case, I tucked some Melissa Frances pearls in my bouquet of flowers.

I finished the card off with a spritz of Mister Huey Calico Shine from Studio Calico.

As always, I thank you for stopping by! I hope to find some time to create this week, as I have a LOT of ideas that I want to share. Plus, I’ll be working on something special with a dear friend of mine, I’m just waiting on my goodies to come in. Also, the My Creative Time team is giving you all peaks into the different techniques that we use, and the first group started today! You can check that out here. My turn hasn’t come yet, so if there is something I do that you would like to see, LET ME KNOW! I’ve been pricing video cameras, so there are tutorials coming. One reason I stopped was I didn’t like that my camera picked up the noise from itself when I recorded. Anyway, leave a comment below this post, or feel free to email me. Okay, I’ve gone on enough! Have a blessed day!